No thesis selected. While there is a wide spectrum of cancers that people can develop, the main cause of death each year among these patients occurs when the primary tumor metastasizes. The current approaches used to combat cancer, such as radiation or commercial drugs, genereally have a low frequency of success if the tumors have already metastasized. Therefore, understanding the mechanism behind metastasis may provide the knowledge needed to develop more effective therapies. In order for metastasis to occur, malignant cells must be able to break free from the solid tumor mass and survive without signals from surrounding tumor cells. This suggests that disruption of cell-cell adhesions is a key step in promoting metastasis. By studying the mechanisms and components involved in maintaining these important interactions, especially in mouse models where progression of metastasis can be monitored in vivo, will provide a clearer understanding of how cell adhesion is disrupted in metastasis and the steps needed to prevent such an occurrence.